Unusual meal for a Cardinal

[john register <register@tri-countynet.net>]

Evening...
    I stepped out on our deck around 6:30 this evening (Monday)  to start
the gas grill and noticed three adult cardinals, two males, one female, on
the lawn about 40 feet distant. One of the male birds was clearly agitated,
wings arched half open, tail spread. He was pecking at something in the
grass; hopping forward, pecking forcefully, hopping back, circling then
pecking some more. The other two Cardinals stood by as onlookers. I got a
pair of binocs and watched to see if I could identify the focus of the
bird's attention. In a few seconds, the Cardinal picked up a full grown
Carolina Anole, which hung limp from the bird's beak, dropped it, picked it
up again and flew off with the Anole dangling from the Cardinal's beak.  The
bird flew into dense understory, and I was not able to see whether it ate
the Anole or abandoned it. While Cardinals and Anoles are very common
year-round residents here, this is the first time I have ever seen any
interaction between the two.

John Register
Washington,  NC  27889
(252) 946-1330
register@tri-countynet.net